Negative Nancy and the Thief of Enthusiasm

Do you have a Negative Nancy in your life? ( Sorry to some of the very positive Nancy's out there).
At some point I believe everyone does. There always seems to be that 1 person who thrives on squelching someone's joy.
I am dealing with a Negative Nan now as is my favorite artist Campbell Jane. This Nancy is consistently dropping hints that my ideas aren't good enough, or my work isn't good enough, or I shouldn't even bother with my plan, because nobody is going to be interested anyway or it's just going to be too hard. It gets frustrating and disheartening to say the least, but the discouragement is hardest to take.
Maybe Nancy is jealous, maybe she is afraid that I will steal the spotlight from her for a little while, or maybe is just that she is determined not to wish success for anyone but herself. Maybe she doesn't even realize she is doing this.
 Either way I have decided that it must stop. I will not let her negativity hold me back for another minute.
This first and most important step I can take to stop it is to realize that I don't need to tell her all of my ideas, ( hairbrained or otherwise) I am in control of what she knows.

Thank goodness I am old enough that I don't need anyone's approval or permission, hers included.

Second step is to view her negativity as a challenge. ( Oh Yeah, watch me!). I do love a good challenge.

The third step is to realize that I can't change her attitude and I still love her. She is a very special friend.I will just have to pray that she sees things in a more positive light.

I will admit that not all of my ideas are Genius, but how will I ever know if they aren't given a chance because I let someone else shoot them down before they are ever tried.

Now at the risk of talking to much and driving you away, I will simply say, "nuff said".

Why I do this..........

If the plants bloom or make fruit, then it is all the better: 

Here are a few flowers  blooming their hearts out today.

This gorgeous brugmansia suavoleans blooms in the fall. It is normally still blooming when we get our first frost.

This gorgeous beauty is Confederate rose hibiscus. Aka Hibiscus Mutabilis.

It normally begins blooming in October and will continue until the first killing frost which here is sometimes not until January.

Meet Charles Grimaldi, another gorgeous brugmansia. It too likes to bloom in the fall after a long hot summer these breathtakingly beautiful flowers are not only pretty but smell fabulous.

Hope your fall is beautiful!

Silence Is Golden......

And this one has gone on far too long. 




The garden has been loved in some areas and totally neglected in others.
 We had a part of a big oak tree fall and land on 3 of my biggest prettiest Camellia Sasanquas and now my big experiment will be to try to save the shrubs and  propagate  what I can from them out of season.


These are from top to bottom, Camellia Sasanqua :"Taylors Pink Perfection", Apple Blossom, and Sparkling Burgundy. All 3 have been in this spot for at least 15 years so it is very traumatic to see them in this state of damage.

Are you ready for a good experiment? 


Camellias are normally rooted during the summer months when the new growth has hardened a little.
Cuttings taken in late June are usually tough enough so taking cuttings now means they are still very soft.
I plan to use several different methods,  and I will document them here. 
Check back later this week for the methods.


The Jewelry Studio has been totally neglected, but I hope to get back to work there soon too.  I have missed doing the Diva's zentangle challenges every monday. It;s funny how your routine just changes suddenly. Does that ever happen to you?

Weekly Zentangle Challenge # 26

This week's challenge from Laura Harms at I am the Diva is Spiral Out... and Keep Going. I had lots of fun with this challenge. I couldn't stop making different tangles .  The more I spiraled the more I wanted to spiral all the while adding different patterns and twists and turns. I have done a lot of the past challenges, but never posted them. This week I decided that has to stop. I want to tangle every week.

 Be sure to stop by the Diva's website on Sunday or Monday to see all of the wonderful entries in this week's challenge.
Doodles toYou.

My 15 minutes of Fame

I cannot believe I have missed the past 4 challenges. I have drawn the tiles but somehow never managed to list them. This is my submission for weekly challenge 17 sponsored by Laura Harm AKA Diva.

 I hope to get on a  more organized schedule and get things done on time, but it is spring and flowers are blooming and seedlings are waiting patiently for their new pots and I just want to be "gettin dirty" playing in the garden.

Blooming this week are my irises and a few clematis. Lots of azaleas a few camellias are still strutting their stuff and the coreopsis, ajuga and pink oxalis are really putting on a show.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday's Tangle

I can honestly say I don't know which part of this weekly challenge was more difficult for me. Actually drawing the zentangle/zendoodle entirely with my non-dominant  left hand  (only created to hold my wedding band and keep me from looking funny) or posting the result here for all to see. Hmmm, that is a tough one. I chatted with my favorite artist, and she even agreed. It would be really hard to do mostly because of being a perfectionist. That part was really hard to over come. I had no idea it was so deeply ingrained in my psyche. I told my son about this challenge and he took great pleasure in explaining that if is wasn't difficult, it wouldn't be a challenge.
So I am going to rise to the challenge. I have drawn  and colored entirely with my left hand and the only thing left to do is to close my eyes and post it before my brain figures out what I am doing and brings my right  hand to a screeching halt.
Challenge # 13" Non-dominatrix"

For a real treat if you have some time, check out Laura Harm's blog and see what so many very talented artists have created this week using only their "non-dominant " hands. She puts together a weekly slide show of everyone's entries too. 

So, if I am drawing with my left hand, does that mean I am in my "right mind"?

Playing Catch Up

Wow! I truly do not know what happened to the past two weeks. It is almost as if they didn't happen. I have missed both of the last two challenges from Laura, I haven't posted, in fact I haven't done any of the things I had planned. Oh Well, tomorrow is a new week and my todo list starts again. I am working in the studio a bit and making a sterling bangle bracelet with a gorgeous copper rose ( that my very creative husband sculpted) and some very pretty cobalt blue chalcedony earrings. I promise to post pictures as soon as they are complete.
Samantha G sent me a special request for a post about my seed starting method. Samantha, I hope I am not too late, I will write that post for you ASAP.
In the meantime, I will continue to Zentangle/doodle and get back to the challenges and regular postings.
Hello and thank you to all of my followers.

Thought for the week.....
Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, 
 for they shall never cease to be amused.


I hope you all have a wonderful Week.

Hearts for Artoo

Laura's son Artoo has been very sick, so this week's  zentangle challenge was to combine 2 of the challenges we have already done in to hearts for her little one. These hearts are filled with love and prayers for little Artoo's healing and peace and rest for the family as well.

I always post more than 1, but these hearts are dedicated to Artoo and my newest little great nephew Christian, just 1 month old and recently hospitalized for an infection.  The prayer of my heart is that both these little boys will heal quickly and grow strong and healthy real soon.

I just love a good challenge!

I just love challenges. I for some unknown reason like to test myself just to see if i can do something. You know, Sudoku  puzzles, crosswords, word tangles, "can you see this" images, anything that makes my little brain stretch a little. Lately I even seem to enjoy those silly little quizzes that psychologists use to determine your personality and etc...... Is anyone else like that, or am I just weird?

Anyway, I have been doing Laura's challenge each week and today as I was uploading some zentangles to my flikr photostream I found another challenge I have yet to check out.
This week's challenge at I am the diva CZT was breathe, relax and smile. Not easy to do while trying to doodle. True to form though I could not stop with 1 doodle. So here are the best 2 from this week.

Now I am off to check out the new challenge at Life imitates doodles  If you haven't checked into zentangling, you're missing out.

Tuesday's Tangle

This week's challenge from Laura was a new tangle pattern called ixorus. I had such fun drawing it, I couldn't stop. I ended up making about 6 tiles and then forcing my family to choose the best of the bunch. Zentangling has become my newest obsession. I don't get tired of doing it and every little tile is so different. These are  their choices for my best tiles.

My favorite artist and I have decided to do a collaboration. She will do the painting and I will add doodles. I can't wait to get started. I have been her biggest fan for many years so the chance to work with her on a project is so cool. I get so excited when I think about it, I am doing the happy dance! When we get it done, I will be sure to post it. Till then have a great time tangling.

Tuesday's Tangle

Last week I began following Laura's zentangle challenges. I just love drawing these little pieces. They start with no design in mind and each little line just adds into your pattern. I guess I love the spontaneity of drawing something and not knowing what it is going to be.
I read a blog last week that talked about silencing the inner critic. It was a wonderful post and it made me really think about my drawings and when will I be satisfied with them. I wish I could find the post again so that I could link to it for you.
There are so many people doing such gorgeous zendoodles and zentangles that I could spend hours looking at them all. Each one is so different. My biggest problem is I can't stop drawing them. I have become addicted. ( ok, there are worse things I could do. Right?)
This week's challenge was orbs. I had a lot of fun drawing the orbs and no fun at all trying to decide which to post.
Here are  my entries for the Weekly challenge # 5. Orbs

If you haven't tried zentangling yet, Check out this website. I think you will love it.